Special Pathfinder Tales sale!

Jan 6, 2012, 03:30 pm

Barnes & Noble's SciFi and Fantasy Blog recently published their Best Fantasy Releases of 2011, and we were thrilled to find our own James L. Sutter's debut Pathfinder Tales novel, Death's Heretic, named as the #3 best fantasy release of 2011, leading a pack of favorites such as Terry Pratchett and R.A. Salvatore! And fellow Pathfinder Tales author Howard Andrew Jones (Plague of Shadows) came in at #4 with his non-Pathfinder novel Desert of Souls!

To celebrate James' taking the number three spot, we're offering the Pathfinder Tales Three-for-All sale! Until the end of January, for every two Pathfinder Tales novels you purchase—whether in print or PDF/ePub—you'll get the third for free. Or purchase any two Pathfinder Tales short fiction ePubs and get the third for free. Just add them to your cart, and we'll discount the lowest-priced qualifying item at checkout.

Of course, you can use this opportunity to pick up James' Death's Heretic, where we're introduced to warrior Salim Ghadafar, one-time resident of the nation of Rahadoum, a place where worship of the gods is forbidden. Yet Salim is bound to the service of Pharasma, the goddess of death, and is sent on a mission to find out what happened to the soul of a wealthy merchant who had made arrangements for an untimely demise. With a journey spanning not only the desert nation of Thuvia, but leading to the very doorstep of deities in the Great Beyond, this Pathfinder Tales novel gives you a great taste of what you'll find on our world of Golarion! (And don't miss "Faithful Servants," James' free web fiction, which gives you a story of Salim's earlier days!)

Or you can catch up on all the adventures of Count Varian Jeggare and Radovan (first introduced in Dave Gross' "The Lost Pathfinder" and Prince of Wolves), meet the half-elven Pathfinder Channa-Ti as she searches for a lost treasure in Elaine Cunningham's "Dark Tapestry," or follow along with the elf Elyana as she searches for a curse on her old comrade with Howard's Plague of Shadows!

I don't suppose there's any chance that another round of web fiction ePubs could be put up before this offer expires? I've presently got everything released, in one form or another (mostly here, but bigger fiction in the APs and Elaine & Dave's stories in Wayfinder). I much prefer getting the ePubs for the web fiction as it's really easy to plow through them on my iPad.

EDIT: Forgot to say - really well done James & Howard!

Suprised that Dance of Dragons didn't make that actual list, although it seems like it wasn't the composer's cup of tea...

I don't suppose there's any chance that another round of web fiction ePubs could be put up before this offer expires? I've presently got everything released, in one form or another (mostly here, but bigger fiction in the APs and Elaine & Dave's stories in Wayfinder). I much prefer getting the ePubs for the web fiction as it's really easy to plow through them on my iPad.

All systems are go for having the new batch of ePubs online before the offer expires. Stay tuned!

And for the folks who only need one or two paper books for their collections--surely you have some friends who could use their own copy of your favorite Pathfinder Tales book, no? People have birthdays, like, all the time....

Spoiler:

"Here, Grandma! I got you The Worldwound Gambit! And Death's Heretic is just likeMurder, She Wrote, only different!"

I'm reading Death's Heretic right now and I'm enjoying it a lot! Glad to see that 3rd position ;) Regarding Desert of Souls I have to say that after reading Plague of Shadows I looked for more works from Howard and ordered Desert almost instantly! I haven't read it yet but this news have earned it a second place in my "to read" list. Congrats to both of you and special thanks to the Pathfinder Tales team of editors and writers for the great moments. Long live Golarion!:D

Maybe it's just me, but where's the bone being thrown to those of us who've subscribed since the beginning and have to pay FIFTEEN BUCKS for a novel that is available in a brick and mortar store? (Or cheaper at Buy.com or Amazon, if you wait?) Sorry, but a free PDF that comes with a $15 subscription doesn't cut it!

Hey, Paizo, how about a credit to those of us who have paid FULL PRICE since the beginning of your fiction program?

Maybe it's just me, but where's the bone being thrown to those of us who've subscribed since the beginning and have to pay FIFTEEN BUCKS for a novel that is available in a brick and mortar store? (Or cheaper at Buy.com or Amazon, if you wait?) Sorry, but a free PDF that comes with a $15 subscription doesn't cut it! Hey, Paizo, how about a credit to those of us who have paid FULL PRICE since the beginning of your fiction program?

This is, as they say, awesome! I picked up all three Tales books I've not read yet! (Prince of Wolves, Master of Devils, and the Worldwound Gambit) as an early birthday present to myself. Thanks for having such awesome fiction guys.

For someone new to the Pathfinder Tales, what would be your top three? And I know it's totally subjective, but are there any that are more or less appropriate for a young teen?

Joules, I have read all of the Tales so far and enjoyed all of them. Top 3, solely my opinion:

1: Plague of Shadows
2: Death's Heretic
3: Worldwound Gambit

That said, there are no BAD book in the Tales line. Prince of Wolves and Master of Devils have the added benefit of maintaining the main characters across 2 books (a series of sorts, if you will).

Check out the Tales "rating" thread for a short debate (including my quick thoughts) on all the books through Master of Devils. I have not made the time to review Death's Heretic yet, though I need to.

Overall, there is nothing in the Tales Line that would keep me from handing them to a teenager. The Paizo team is good about keeping out "the naughty bits" so that the books cater to as wide an audience as possible.

The two books with the closest to "inappropriate" material for a young teen might be Worldwound Gambit and Prince of Wolves. Worldwound Gambit leans solidly into fantasy horror. Prince of Wolves has one scene that would earn it an "R" rating on screen, but in print is rather more innocent.

"young teen" in the above paragraph assumes an 11-13 year old of normal maturity.

For someone new to the Pathfinder Tales, what would be your top three? And I know it's totally subjective, but are there any that are more or less appropriate for a young teen?

Joules, I have read all of the Tales so far and enjoyed all of them. Top 3, solely my opinion:

1: Plague of Shadows
2: Death's Heretic
3: Worldwound Gambit

...
Check out the Tales "rating" thread for a short debate (including my quick thoughts) on all the books through Master of Devils. I have not made the time to review Death's Heretic yet, though I need to.

I'd note that Worldwound Gambit and Prince of Wolves both have the most graphic/disturbing sex scenes--which really aren't very graphic, in my opinion, but there's still a definite indication that sex is happening rather than simply fading to black at the appropriate time (as Death's Heretic does). if memory serves, Winter Witch, Plague of Shadows, and Master of Devils have no sex in them whatsoever.

In terms of violence--well, they've all got plenty of that, but Americans don't seem too concerned about that in their movie and book ratings. :D

Maybe it's just me, but where's the bone being thrown to those of us who've subscribed since the beginning and have to pay FIFTEEN BUCKS for a novel that is available in a brick and mortar store? (Or cheaper at Buy.com or Amazon, if you wait?) Sorry, but a free PDF that comes with a $15 subscription doesn't cut it!

Hey, Paizo, how about a credit to those of us who have paid FULL PRICE since the beginning of your fiction program?

If you're asking where the "bone" for you is in the Three-for-All sale, well, if you have all of the novels, you can try some of the short fiction ePubs at the "buy two, get the third free" price. And if you already have all of the current ePubs... we'll be releasing another group of them before the sale ends.

If you're asking for a discount on the cover price for subscribers, that's not in the cards right now. Tales still has fairly small print runs, and per-unit printing costs are a lot higher than you might think. Given our costs, we really *should* be charging $10.99 instead of $9.99 for the novels, but we've gone for the lower price because we think it'll help us get the volume up faster.

Also, retailers really hate it when we offer discounts on direct sales; they perceive it as unfair competition, so our subs generally offer electronic versions as a perk instead of discounts. (There are some exceptions, but they're carefully thought out, and need to remain exceptions.) Paizo needs retail sales as well as direct sales to survive, so annoying our retailers is generally something we want to avoid!

Also, to folks who are looking in, the subscription is *not* $15; it's cover price, and shipping to John brings his total cost almost to $15. Note that most people who subscribe to the Tales line have other subscriptions, and because we ship subs together each month, other people are able to spread their shipping cost over multiple products.

John, we appreciate your supporting us with your subscription on the Tales line, but if the PDF/ePub isn't enough of a perk for you, and you're really price sensitive, it would not hurt our feelings in the least bit if you choose to buy your books elsewhere. As I mentioned, we need retail sales as well as direct sales, so the best way for you to support the line is to do whatever you think makes the most sense for you personally.

That makes some sense, Vic, but I can't see a reason why you guys couldn't add a "pre-order" button for the upcoming release eBooks, so that your digital subscribers could enjoy the same benefit that you are offering the paperback buyers.

Calibre is a free program that will easily convert the ePub to Kindle format. Yes, it's an extra step, but more than one Paizo employee has said that Amazon's terms for selling the eBooks are unacceptable. So, in essence this is already done! You just didn't know it yet.

There are other threads that will tell you how to do this, just do a search for kindle and they will pop up.

Calibre does work well: no issues there, from my perspective. But I do question why they wouldn't expect this buy-2-get-1-free offer to the digital audience. All they would have to do is create an ePub pre-order option for the upcoming books.

Calibre does work well: no issues there, from my perspective. But I do question why they wouldn't expect this buy-2-get-1-free offer to the digital audience. All they would have to do is create an ePub pre-order option for the upcoming books.

Apologies in advance if I am misunderstanding what you are looking for.

They ARE extending the buy-2-get-1-free offer to the digital audience. From the blog: "Until the end of January, for every two Pathfinder Tales novels you purchase—whether in print or PDF/ePub—you'll get the third for free. Or purchase any two Pathfinder Tales short fiction ePubs and get the third for free." Emphasis mine

If you are looking for a digital only subscription option, that's a different matter entirely.

Calibre is a free program that will easily convert the ePub to Kindle format. Yes, it's an extra step, but more than one Paizo employee has said that Amazon's terms for selling the eBooks are unacceptable. So, in essence this is already done! You just didn't know it yet.

There are other threads that will tell you how to do this, just do a search for kindle and they will pop up.

Well Fantasy Flight doesn't seem to have a problem with the Amazon terms, they have all their books in the Kindle store.

I do realize you can put the Tales novels onto a Kindle device yourself (I've done it) but that's not the same as the books being on the Kindle platform. When the book is on the Kindle platform I can read it on my Kindle, PC, or phone seamlessly.

Well Fantasy Flight doesn't seem to have a problem with the Amazon terms, they have all their books in the Kindle store.

I do realize you can put the Tales novels onto a Kindle device yourself (I've done it) but that's not the same as the books being on the Kindle platform. When the book is on the Kindle platform I can read it on my Kindle, PC, or phone seamlessly.

Selling Kindle versions of the Pathfinder Tales line isn't in our current purview. This thread details a few specific reasons as to why.

Well Fantasy Flight doesn't seem to have a problem with the Amazon terms, they have all their books in the Kindle store.

I do realize you can put the Tales novels onto a Kindle device yourself (I've done it) but that's not the same as the books being on the Kindle platform. When the book is on the Kindle platform I can read it on my Kindle, PC, or phone seamlessly.

Selling Kindle versions of the Pathfinder Tales line isn't in our current purview. This thread details a few specific reasons as to why.

I understand you don't find the Amazon terms completely agreeable but isn't it better to get some revenue from Amazon digital sales than none? If Amazon kept 99% of the e-book sale Paizo is still getting 1% versus 0% for not having a Kindle version. The Amazon terms may be egregious (in your opinion) but they are not exclusive. You can still sell the novels wherever you want plus add Kindle to the list. It's all added revenue and product exposure, you're just squabbling over the amount you get to keep, and considering (I assume) it costs Paizo almost nothing in overhead to put and keep the novels in the Amazon store, whats the harm? It's all additive isn't it?

I understand you don't find the Amazon terms completely agreeable but isn't it better to get some revenue from Amazon digital sales than none?

The fact that they have the poorest revenue sharing plan in the industry is actually only a *minor* problem here. The real dealbreaker in their contract is that, while it lets the publisher suggest a list price, it allows them to sell books at less than that price, and that collides with the fact that pretty much every ebook marketplace—including Amazon themselves—has clauses in their contract that require publishers to allow them to offer the best price available at any other outlet.

For example, if we price a Pathfinder Tales eBook at $6.99, and offered it to Amazon and, say, the iBookstore, Amazon could *choose* to sell it for $2.99, and then the "best available price" clause would kick in at the iBookstore, and we'd be forced to lower the price there to match the price Amazon set. Essentially, this means that Amazon alone effectively gets to set the worldwide price for your book.

Obviously, this is unworkable for anybody who doesn't sell exclusively through Amazon, which is why all of the major publishing houses refused to sell through Amazon until they dropped that clause from the contract, which they eventually did... but Amazon refuses to strike it for smaller publishers. Until they change their mind on that, our eBooks will not be available at Amazon.